The victory of becoming the first Mexican woman to earn her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University was hard-won for Dr. Deborah Berebichez (pictured), who’s faced objection to her desire to work in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, since childhood.“I was told from a very young age that physics was for geniuses and that I had better pick a more feminine path. … When I confessed to my mom in high school that I loved physics and math, she said, ‘Don’t tell the boys, because you’ll intimidate them, and you may not be able to get married,’” Berebichez said